Same old Tories: Looking back at what devolution opponents claimed in the 1990s.. and what they say about independence now

THE Conservative Party was firmly opposed to the creation of a Scottish Parliament before the 1997 referendum, and now it has dusted off the same old arguments ahead of the vote on independence later this year.

THE anti-independence campaign Better Together has been dubbed Project Fear by opponents after warning of dire economic consequences of a Yes vote.

The Tories, in particular, have been strident in their claims that a stand-alone Scotland will endure mass immigration, security risks..and the loss of Doctor Who.

But have we heard it all before? In the run-up to the devolution vote in 1997, senior Tory figures such as then leader William Hague said Scotland would become a “high-tax ghetto” if we used tax-raising powers, while former Scots Secretary Michael Forsyth warned of a “pygmy parliament” that would diminish, impoverish and finally fragment”.

Here, we remember what Hague, Forsyth and former PM John Major said then about devolution and what they are saying now about independence.

Allan Milligan

Michael Forsyth

Lord Forsyth

1995

"Nothing could be more damaging to job prospects than the tartan tax. A Scottish Parliament with tax-raising powers would be a jobs holocaust."

1997

"We will not see our country dismembered. We will fight for Scotland as we have always done. So, don’t mope on the sidelines working out how best to co-exist with the Scottish Constitutional Convention’s pygmy parliament that would diminish, impoverish and finally fragment our country."

2012

"The Union of 1707 is the most successful partnership the world has ever seen. Both England and Scotland have flourished because of the Union.

"It was created to ensure the Protestant succession in England and to save Scotland from the consequences of the collapse of a property bubble in which half the money in circulation was lost in the infamous Darien scheme. It saved Scotland’s economy then just as it did 300 years later when RBS and the Bank of Scotland collapsed.

"Salmond had a vision of an arc of prosperity made up of Scotland, Iceland and Ireland. We hear little of that today."

2014

Unavailable for comment.

GEORGES GOBET/AFP/Getty Images

William Hague

William Hague

1997

"If there is a Scottish Parliament in the future, Conservatives will certainly stand for it.

"We will do our utmost to ensure it doesn’t damage the UK as much as it could easily do. We will do our utmost to ensure that Scotland doesn’t become a high-tax ghetto in the way that we fear it might.

"But that doesn’t mean we should not energetically say to the country, “This project is a mistake”, and that this will lead to disappointment, to disillusionment, to excessive cost and bureaucracy and the people of Scotland will be better off without it."

2013

"The cost of creating new institutions would place an enormous burden on the Scottish taxpayer. It would also take years to develop the infrastructure and qualified personnel that are needed to deal effectively with the array of threats that we all face. And Scotland would lose the benefits that come from having some ofthe most capable and professional armed forces and intelligence services in the world.

"We have one set of intelligence services and one set of armed forces benefiting from significant economies of scale, and years of institutional development now provide a far higher level of security for Scotland.

2014

Unavailable for comment.

Lynne Cameron/PA Wire

John Major

John Major

1996

"Ask yourself how it would help them if Scotland had a parliament that could put an extra 3p in the pound on income tax. For starters. More later. That increase – the tartan tax – would cost many families an extra £6.50 a week. More than £330 a year.

"That’s the starting price of devolution. The price Scotland would pay for the privilege of becoming the most heavily taxed part of the United Kingdom. Scotland’s prosperity would be going, going, gone.

"And there’s another thing. People who are forced to pay higher taxes have a habit of demanding higher wages.

"Would it help attract overseas companies to Scotland if they faced the prospect of wages spiralling up? Do you want to send jobs back across the border to England?"

2013

"The SNP’s “ace in the hole” has always been the North Sea oil and gas reserves.

"But their estimate of reserves is 12 times greater than the Office of National Statistics say. Who’s right? I don’t know. But voters may wish to be wary of promises based on false optimism.

"Be in no doubt, in politics, commerce and the armed forces, Scottish influence is important to Britain. Of course, anti-English sentiment from separatists irritates and enrages – as it is intended to do – but across the UK, people know and value Scots as partners, work colleagues, friends and neighbours. It is hard to imagine Scots becoming foreigners. But, if they do, nothing will ever be the same again."